Baby care traditions in Hispanic culture

Latino traditions for babies

As a new mom, you're probably facing issues you've never had to deal with before, from breastfeeding to keeping your baby's umbilical cord stump clean. So many new challenges can make you feel insecure, especially if you're surrounded by abuelitas or other expert moms eager to give you all kinds of advice about childrearing.

Latino culture has many traditions about how to care for your baby and what to do when your baby gets sick. These popular beliefs were the basis of childcare when there was no scientific explanation for certain illnesses. (Traditional practices attributed illness to a blend of physical and spiritual causes.)

When a baby is born into a Latino family, it's common for the elders to offer the new mom advice and support. The help they offer for breastfeeding, for instance, is very important because some women do experience difficulties at first and family support can help you keep going when you want to quit. But you may also get some advice about practices that are based more on traditional Latino culture than on modern medicine.

Listen to your elders' recommendations, keeping in mind that these traditions are part of a rich culture and heritage. But if the advice sounds dangerous in any way, explain why you'd like to do things differently or even just graciously thank them for their advice and leave it at that.

Invite your family members to come along to your next pediatric appointment, so that they can hear firsthand from the doctor why some traditional practices have been replaced by other medical recommendations.

The umbilical cord stump

Latino culture has very strong and ingrained beliefs about how to care for the umbilical cord stump. Long ago it was thought that babies could take in air through their belly button, so it was kept covered. In fact, in many places in Latin America you can still buy ombligueras – a kind of gauze or fabric made for wrapping snugly around the baby's tummy.

Another tradition says that when the dry umbilical cord stump falls off, you can keep the belly button from becoming an "outie" by placing a button or a coin on it and then covering it.

The truth is that putting pressure on the belly button doesn't alter its shape. The belly button is the scar that's left after the umbilical cord stump has fallen off. The stump is an opening in the skin that has to heal, and the best way to care for it is to keep it dry, clean, and exposed as much as possible. Covering it with something can cause an infection.

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